The Impetus

I spend my weekends at a shoe store. Well, we sell shoes, but it's not just any shoe store. It is one where dreams literally do come true. People walk into that store in every shade of life you can find. Young, old, fast, slow. Most are somewhere in the middle and just trying to be healthy. Many people come simply to replace their old shoes, the ones they've loved for miles but are ready to retire. Others come because they have received a prescription from their doctor saying, "go to them, they will help." Still others wander in just because it's there. We welcome all and take all. Whatever the need, the store usually has something to provide.

When I found my way to this store about a year and a half ago, I was down. I mean really down. Unemployed, overeducated, and with little "career" prospects headed my way, I had gone to the classifieds to find seasonal work. Thankfully, they took a chance on me and I on them.

It was in this store where I learned some of life's most important lessons. Lessons about hard work, determination, and finding a way to sometimes just let it be. It became more than a job to me, it was a community, a network, and a family. Some of the best people to walk the Earth can often be found within that store.

Getting this job at this running store was one of the best things to ever happen to me. It was a situation that I never wanted. I wanted to be a lawyer, using my degrees, and out in the "real" world. But, in the end, being there did more to shape me into who I am than many other "professional" experiences I have had.

It really is funny the way life works. Did I move from to Washington, DC, to work at a shoe store? Nope. But, would I have if I had known then what I do now? In a heart beat. Unfortunately, it took me a year of being in DC to stumble onto this place. Only in this space and time, did I really dare to open the doors to myself. And only under these circumstances did I decide to push myself to the physical limit and dream of the Ironman.

If not for this store, would I have set out on this journey I am on? Probably not. But, like I said, this store is a place where dreams come true.